Double acting fluid pressure actuator



March 5, 1957 H. w. BOTELER 2,783,746

DOUBLE ACTING FLUID PRESSURE ACTUATOR Filed June 10, 1950 3, Sheets-Sheet 1 'I N VEN TOR.

Heriry W. Boteler March 5, 1957 H. w. BOTELER 2,783,746

DOUBLE ACTING FLUID PRESSURE ACTUATOR Filed June 10, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. 2

IN V EN TOR.

g-l'enr y W. Boteler ATTORNEY March 5, 1957 H. w. BOTELER 2,783,746

DOUBLE ACTING FLUID PRESSURE ACTUATOR Filed June 10, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 3- ]NVEN TOR igsnry W. Bo'reler MW ATTORNEY Unitedstates Patent DOUBLE ACTING FLUID PRESSURE ACTUATOR 1 Henry W. Boteler, East Greenwich, R. 1., assign0r to Grinnell CorporatiomProvidence, R. 1., a corporation of Delaware Application June 10, 1950, Serial No. 167,336

1 Claim. (Cl. 121-48) This invention relates to improvements in doubleacting fluid pressure actuator. More especially it has to do with actuators of the type disclosed in the Fitch Patent No. 2,478,575 of August 9, 1949.

The, actuator of the Fitch patent has many desirable characteristics. It has an over-all diametrical dimension only a little larger than the diameter of the area on which the fluid pressure is efiective. It has no packing glands or stuifing boxes to prevent the leakage of pressure around its moving parts, hence it can be operated with minimum friction loss. it is compact, easy to assemble and disassemble, and is highly efiicient. However, the actuator; ofthe Fitch patent is moved in only one direction by the application of fluid force and requires spring means to move it in thereverse direction.

it is an object of the present invention to provide an actuator having the aforesaid desirable characteristics and in addition having the feature. of being moved in both directions of its travel by fluid pressure alone. This eliminates the spring means, enables the speed at which the. moving parts travel in either direction to be determined bythe intensity of the pressures applied and, except for a somewhat greater length, retains the desired compactness and high ratio of effective area to the diametrical size oi the device.

It is a further object; of the invention to provide a double, acting actuator which has only two diaphragms so. ari anged between thefixed and moving parts of the deviee that they not only seal off two separated pressure chamb s b t lso im nat a y p k g n st a boxes, or other sealing diaphragms.

It is also an object to connect the movable parts of the actuator directly with an element to be moved along the axis of the device throngh a substantial length of travel and to provide adjusting means for varying the length of rav l as des r d- The best mode in which it has been contemplated applying the principles of my improvements is shown in the accompanying drawings but these are primarily illustrative becanse it is intended that the patent shall cover by suitable expression in the, appended claim whatever featnnes of patentable novelty reside in the invention diso ed.

In he rawi gs:

Big. 1 is an elevation partly in medial section of an aetnator embodying my improvements, and showing it applied to a diaphragm valve with the latter in closed position;

Big. 2 is a similar elevation, taken as. on line 2;- ,2 of Fig. '1, but with the valve shown open; and

Figs. 3, 4, and 6 are cross-sectional views taken as on lines 33, 4-4, 55, and 6-6 respectively of Fig. 1, but without showing of the diaphragm valve below.

I Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the improved actuator has an outer cylinder unit A comprising a casing 10 which may be formed in one piece or made up from a top section 10a and a lower section 1% welded to the top section. The latter has an annular "ice a g 2 t he nd. a ner l cy indr al: side w th a v y. c d. qr l .04; Whose. P l PO t n ar- A a g d bo t m; plate ,2 s. i abl s c r o h l a of, th in t stahlr hr. bolts 14. As here shown this bottom plate1 ;2;is attached by bolts 16 to the bonnet 18 of; the casing of a diaphragm; valve 19 such as is shown in Letters l atenthlo. 2,412,105, of mb 3, T val ah we s t s r'l erilx illustrative oi any device having; partswhich itis desired to be moved by an actuator.

Specifically, the; valve here, shown is, a Grinnell -S annders Diaphragm Valve which has a weir=like seat 2 9. against which a di hra m. mm he e te o 2 9 119 valve. The diaphragm is secured. to a backing morn en or compressor 24 b n em ed ed th eade stud 61m the hacking member s, n. u n, v al y qq n st dhr P l a Vhlvh stem; 0- Th: i ill.d$ pwa d; through the bonnet of the valve and is attached to the moving parts of the actuator.

Threaded onto the upper end of the stem 30 is a sleeve nut 32 having a cylindrical head 32o provided with radial socket holes 32b. This head bears; against a reinforc ng plate 34 which in torn rests against a flanged bottom; P at 6 f a o t f mb n awny inde unit .1-. h sleevh n 3. a s has. xt r al thre ds on. w sh o he nut 3 is c w d, to e q sed n Place hr set screw B t een. he 1 i 3 n hebo t m P ate 3 a sp n s; o d ab t h lee ut 3 The. r ion provided. h s. Q9 l RE-i$@. in lfident t P T le ve 1 1 f m. inadver en l turnin the stem after it has been adjusted in position, Thisd; i hh nt s a m sh d hr in rtin the and; o tri (no h n). n ne Qt a ser es o hol s 2 in he d of the sleeve. Rotation of the sleeve; in thi in s t d nward tra e o the; valve 8 and thus i s the Proper e tin Qt the diaphra m] 22: on the weir-like seat 20 of the valve.

It will e noted h t th he arr emen shown. s t he 42. s. t l y pr se whrn. fl Pr ss re d ii etl: to. the device to P v h l nd the a ved ap ra m} 22 will not be withdrawn from its seat on the weir 20, until the force exerted by this spying, thns c egg; c ed he ri i n d iner a thre s hich; are eatin to m ntain t a v diaphrag n it seat. 9 it. the; Spring 42 is; s m t sed t its, Ql d. hei h t event,"however, the movement achieved by the einfonc 5, Pl t 3 bo m p e 3 h fq h na 3 be i to move is very slight and has not been tonnd to, be ob; jectionable in any way.

he nn b m plate 36 t tt ehed y o ts 4.4 to h c i d i lv Wall f a m b e inn as n .6 which s sim o h fixe Outer cas n 1 xc t h t t i Qtsmaller size. To the annular flange at the top of this inner casing 46 is secured by bolts 48 an annular seal sup, 5 the outr m 5"; Qt h ch i t r d, utward t fo m n annula Ro k t n qqhiuh ieh th, e r el sta ved. gortion 46 Qtt s d wall f'th inne cas n 4 In s. a n l R ket is c am e a an u a he d 52 pro: vi ed. t ne edge o flexible sle e d a h a m 52. h ch ext nd s h hwa t e he head 5.2a t r s on. tself and. tha extends 5gb at its other edge. I is t stwesh e vi-vs l es s 5% a e lee 54. and; ar nas curved portion 56a of another seal cup 56 against whose depending side wall a portion of the diaphragm 52 can rest. The plate 54 and the top of the seal cup 56, together with a reinforcing plate 58 are secured by screws 59 to the upper ends of posts 60 which extend downward through clearance holes 61 (see Figures 5 and 6) in the plate 36 and have their lower ends fastened to thebase plate 12 of the outer casing. This assembly of parts constitutes, as will presently appear, a fixed piston unit C within the aforesaid combined piston-cylinder unit B. Thus there is formed within the actuator a pressure chamber 62, defined by the fixed plate 54, the diaphragm 52 and the seal cup 50.

A similar chamber 64 is formed at the upper end of the outer cylinder unit A. Another annular seal cup 66, secured to the top annular flange 100 by bolts 68, has a depending skirt the lower edge 66a of which is curved outwardly to form another annular pocket in conjunction with the reversely curved portion d of the side wall of the outer casing. A circular bead 7th: at one edge of a second and larger sleeve diaphragm 70 is clamped within this pocket from which the diaphragm 70 extends downward, turns on itself and then extends upward to where a circular bead 70b at its other end is clamped between the curved edge 72a of a plate 72 and a reversely curved portion 74a of still another seal cup 74 against whose depending skirt. a portion of the diaphragm 70 may rest. The plate 72, the seal cup 74 and a reinforcing plate 76 are secured together by bolts 78 and are also connected to the top plate of the seal cup 50 of the inner piston-cylinder unit.

This last mentioned connection is made by a doubleshank stud 80, one shank of which is passed through a central hole in the reinforcing plate 76 and then peened over to rivet this plate and the stud together. The other shank of the stud is threaded and screws part way into a threaded hole 50b at the center of the seal cup 50. The lower end of this threaded hole is sealed by a plug 82 which is screwed into the hole and then welded to the seal cup 50. A spacer ring 84 is clamped between the reinforcing plate 76 and the top flange of the inner casing 46 to limit the extent to which the two can be moved toward one another and thus prevent interference between the series of bolts 78 and 48.

Thus theactuator as a whole comprises the fixed outer cylinder unit, a fixed piston unit and a movable member called a piston-cylinder unit. These elements plus the flexible sleeve diaphragms provide the separate fluid pressure chambers on opposite sides of the movable member and enable the actuator to be moved in both directions by fluid pressure alone. There are no springs, except for the spring 42, and no packing glands or stuln'ng boxes employed and hence the friction loss is negligible. The concentric arrangement of the elements keeps the over-all diametrical dimensions small compared to the eflective area acted upon by the fluid pressure. This eflective area remains constant during the entire travel of the moving parts and its relatively large size obviates the need of excessively high fluid pressures.

Fluid pressure is admitted to and released from the chamber 64 through a pipe 86 screwed into a threaded hole of a hub 66b on the seal cup 66, and fluid pressure is admitted to and released from the chamber 62 through a pipe 88 which passes through the plate 58, seal cup 56.

and plate 54, and has its upper end welded to the latter plate 54 so to be fluid tight therewith. This pipe 88,

extends down through a hole in the bottom plate ,36 and curves outward to project through suitable open ended slots in the flange 12a of the bottom plate 12 and in the side wall of the outer casing 10. These pipes 86 and 88 can be separately connected to the same source of pressure supply in which case a valve 89 could be set in such manner that as the fluid'pressure is admitted to one chamber (62 or 64) it is exhausted from the other chamber (64 or 62). By throttling means (not shown) suitably located in the pipe lines the rate of travel of the moving parts can be separately controlled if it is desired that the valve diaphragm 22 shall move toward or from its seat on the weir 20 at different speeds of travel.

As shown in Fig. l the fluid pressure may be assumed to be effective in chamber 64. It acts on the top side of the inner piston-cylinder unit holding the diaphragm 22 closed. To open the valve 19 the fluid pressure is let into chamber 62 through the pipe 88 while the pressure in chamber 64 is allowed to escape through the pipe 86. This will cause the moving parts to shift to the positions shown in Fig. 2. Since all the moving parts are entirely concealed by the outer casing of the actuator or the casing of the valve, an indicator rod 90 is attached to the inner casing 46 and extended through a hole in the bottom plate 12. The visible position of this rod indicates the position of the enclosed moving parts.

Although the improved actuator is illustrated in its application to a diaphragm valve it is to be understood that its use is not so limited. The outer casing 10 can be secured to any fixed element and the inner bottom plate 36 connected by suitable means to whatever is desired to be moved by the actuator. The movement of the latter can then be controlled solely by the proper application of the fluid pressure within the two pressure chambers of the actuator.

I claim:

A double acting fluid pressure actuator comprising a fixed outer cylinder unit having a bottom plate; a fixed ber above the head of said piston-cylinder unit; a second flexible sleeve diaphragm connecting the upper end of said fixed piston unit to said piston-cylinder unit to form a pressure chamber below the head of said pistoncylinder unit; a rod adjustably connected to the said plate across the bottom of the said piston-cylinder unit and movable with said piston-cylinder unit along the axis of the actua-- tor; and a bushing rotatably mounted at the center of the said plate across the bottom of the said piston-cylinder unit, said bushing being in threaded engagement with the" upper end of said rod, whereby rotation of said bushing changes the axial position of said rod with respect to said piston-cylinder unit.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

